The present invention relates to bottle dispensers, and more particularly to a type of bottle suitable for dispensing thick liquids such as ketchup, salad dressing, and the like.
Conventional bottle dispensers typically have an enlarged body including a base for resting on a table or the like, and a slender neck portion extending upwardly from the body. A simple opening is provided at the top of the neck, for filling the bottle and for dispensing the fluid contents. A cap seals the opening between uses.
A common sight in restaurants and home kitchens is the frustration exhibited by users of conventional bottle dispensers as they attempt to shake out a suitable quantity of, for example ketchup, on a plate or item of food. This frustration is a result of the sometimes excruciatingly slow movement of fluid from the body portion of the container into the neck portion and through the opening, as the bottle is inverted and shaken. The long wait for the fluid to emerge is due in part to the "air gap" formed between the upper surface of the fluid and the opening when the bottle has been resting on its base since the previous use. Moreover, the inner surface of the neck of the bottle presents a high frictional resistance to the fluid, relative to the lower friction encountered if the neck surface were always "lined" with fluid. Finally, when dispensing bottles are first opened, pouring is very difficult because the narrow neck prevents pressure balancing behind the front boundary of the emerging fluid.